1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless communications systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems for improved WiFi access using a wireless device.
2. Background of the Invention
The proliferation of wireless devices provides users opportunities for more convenient, effective and enjoyable communications. For example, wireless terminal devices used in the home and office environment such as cordless telephones and wireless devices employing 802.11 communications standards (also termed “WiFi” devices, hereinafter), allow a user to use and carry the wireless terminal device during use anywhere within a communications range of an access unit that is used to transmit and receive signals to and from the wireless device. For example, handsets of cordless telephone systems can typically be operated effectively within about 10 to 100 meters of a base station. A user of a WiFi terminal device, such as a personal digital assistant, can likewise employ the device within a similar range of a WiFi Access Point, a wireless router, for example.
One advantage of cordless telephone systems is that setup and use of the cordless system is simple. Installation of a new cordless phone system typically involves simply plugging a base station into a power source and landline telephone connection. Typically, a user can subsequently operate the cordless handset to place or receive a telephone call by simply pressing a single button, such as a “talk” or “on” button.
WiFi devices are designed to communicate using an 802.11 standard which employs a fixed frequency band spanning frequencies around 2.4 GHz, similar to frequencies employed by many cordless telephones. Accordingly, in typical circumstances a user can employ a WiFi terminal such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) within a similar range of communications of an Access Point, as is found for cordless telephone handsets. WiFi terminal devices allow a user to send and receive digital data, such as text messages and digital voice information, by communicating with the Access Point, which is in turn linked to a data network or other network designed for transmitting digital information.
However, in a typical circumstance, a user of a WiFi terminal device (hereinafter also referred to as “WiFi handset” or “terminal device”) employs a series of steps in order to link to the Access Point to receive and transmit data. FIG. 1 illustrates steps employed for a user of a known WiFi terminal device to link to an Access Point (also termed “AP”, “wireless access point”, or “wireless AP” herein). In step 100, when a WiFi handset is powered on, the WiFi handset searches for any 802.11 networks or service sets that are present within the vicinity of the WiFi handset. For example, any Access point in a WiFi wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), includes a service set identifier (SSID) that identifies the Access Point. A home LAN may have one or more Access Points, which typically are set to have the same SSID. When a user powers on a WiFi handset near an access point of the home LAN, an SSID identifying the handset is sent to the wireless device.
In step 102, a list of any available networks is provided to the user on the handset. SSIDs associated with the user's “home” network and also those belonging to additional wireless networks in the vicinity may be detected and displayed on the WiFi handset.
In step 104, the user then selects the SSID of the network that is to be joined.
In some systems, as indicated in step 106, a user must enter a password before the user can join a network having the selected SSID.
In order to reduce the length of this process, a user could enter information into the WiFi handset that causes the device to look for a specific SSID to link to upon power up, thus avoiding the need to specify the SSID to be linked to each time the device is powered on. However, the user is still required to set up the automatic SSID searching procedure at least once.
In step 108, an authentication process is initiated. In order for data to be transmitted in a secure manner between the wireless Access Point and the WiFi handset, an encryption protocol is typically employed. Authentication may be based on a shared key, for example, a Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption key.
If authentication is successful, in step 110, the wireless terminal links to the wireless network at the Access Point.
In step 112, if a system other than WEP is used, a user supplies a predetermined encryption key, which is sent to the Access Point, after which, in step 114, the WiFi terminal and Access Point are associated and data exchange can take place.
In light of the foregoing, it will be apparent that a need exist to improve the ease of use of WiFi terminal devices.